Vancouver is​​ an expensive place to live, and the Vancouver Canucks have pretty much been terrible the past couple of years.

So we get it, asking for money to read about this team, in this city of $2.3-million bungalows, takes some gall.

We’re still gonna ask, though. Because if you’re a hardcore NHL fan, we think you’ll get your money’s worth with a subscription to The Athletic, which is quickly assembling the best hockey-writing lineup around.

Our roster now includes Pierre LeBrun, one of the most connected insiders in the business. It also features Corey Pronman, the NHL’s preeminent prospects analyst. (If you’re a Canucks fan right now, you need to be reading Pronman.)

Mike Halford and I have also joined the team as columnists, with a focus on the Canucks.

For the record, I have been watching this godforsaken team for 35 years of my life. Someday, I hope to see a Stanley Cup parade here because I know how much it would mean to my city.

Plus, the rest of Canada would hate it so much.

At the same time, I’m well aware how far the Canucks have to travel on the road back to respectability. That, at its core, is what Halford and I will be writing about. How can the Canucks become Stanley Cup contenders again? What do they need? How should they go about getting it? Where should Chris Tanev be traded?

Our goal for The Athletic in Vancouver is to provide thoughtful, in-depth analysis while having a lot of fun at the same time. You won’t get game recaps here. You won’t read that Brendan Gaunce is day-to-day with an upper-body injury or a preview of Tuesday’s matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes.

What you will read are progress reports on all the youngsters in the organization. You’ll read about the 2018 draft and which players the Canucks may target. You’ll read about the Sedins as they enter the final year of their contracts. And Travis Green, the new head coach.

Most of all, though, we promise to hold the Canucks management and ownership accountable. Jim Benning and Trevor Linden have been on the job for over three years now, and their attempt at a “rebuild on the fly” has drawn considerable criticism. While some of the criticism has been over the top, much of it has been fair. Mistakes have been made. Assets have been wasted. Opportunities have been blown.

On the other hand, the last few months have seen the Canucks add a number of talented youngsters to the stable, either via trade or at the draft. Management deserves credit for that, even if so much more talent is still needed to get this team back where the fans want it.

The point is, Halford and I are going into this job with open minds. If the Canucks do well, we’ll say so. If they don’t, we’ll say so. And if it turns out our analysis is wrong, we’ll go ahead and admit it.

But since you’re paying to read us, we’ll try to be right at least 51 percent of the time.

Jason Brough is the co-lead columnist for The Athletic Vancouver, with a focus on the Canucks. Previously, Jason covered the NHL for NBCSports.com and before that he wrote about the Canucks for The Province. Jason also co-hosts the Halford & Brough radio show on TSN 1040. Follow Jason on Twitter @JasonBroughTSN.